Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway

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Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway
1881 map of the line, with connections
Overview
Dates of operation1877 (1877)–1892 (1892)
SuccessorFitchburg Railroad
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Length
  • 61 miles (98 km) (owned)
  • 25 miles (40 km) (leased)
Route map

Legend
mi
Fitchburg Railroad
0
 North Adams
5
 Wiliamstown
Massachusetts
Vermont
9
 Pownal
12
 North Pownal
Vermont
New York
16
Lebanon Springs Railroad
18
 Hoosick
22
 Hoosick Falls
Bennington and Rutland Railroad
Rutland and Washington Railroad
26
 Eagle Bridge
28
 Buskirk's
Greenwich and Johnsonville Railroad
33
 Johnsonville
Troy and Boston Railroad
36
 Valley Falls
37
 Schaghticoke
Hudson River
Stillwater Branch
Troy, Saratoga and Northern Railroad
45
Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad
46
 Mechanicville
Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad
Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad
Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad
New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
69
Rotterdam Junction
West Shore Railroad
This diagram:

The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway was a railway company that operated in the states of New York and Vermont in the 1880s. At its peak it controlled a 61-mile (98 km) network centered on Mechanicville, New York. Plans to extend the line west to Buffalo, New York, on Lake Ontario, were never realized, and the Fitchburg Railroad, a predecessor of the Boston and Maine Railroad, acquired control of the company in 1887 and merged it in 1892.

History

There were initially two companies, both named Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway, one incorporated in

Boston, Massachusetts, and points west, via the Hoosac Tunnel, which had been completed in 1875. The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway would build between Mechanicville, New York and the Massachusetts/Vermont state line, where it would connect with the Massachusetts-owned Troy and Greenfield Railroad. In the west, the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) would build between Schenectady, New York, and Mechanicville.[2][3] Besides the D&H, the Erie Railroad supported the new line.[4]

The 38-mile (61 km) line between Mechanicville and the Vermont/Massachusetts state line opened on December 22, 1879.[5] Between Valley Falls, New York, and the Massachusetts state line the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway ran parallel with the Troy and Boston Railroad; both lines following the Hoosic River.[3] From the Massachusetts state line, the company operated over the Troy and Greenfield to North Adams, Massachusetts, where it interchanged with the Fitchburg Railroad. The line interchanged with the D&H at two points: Eagle Bridge, New York (the Rutland and Washington Railroad), and at Mechanicville (the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad).[6] The D&H completed the new line between Mechanicville and Schenectady in December 1881, eliminating the need to run via Ballston Spa, New York.[2][7]

Western extension

In early 1884, the company completed a 23 miles (37 km) extension from Mechanicville to

Syracuse, Phoenix and Oswego Railroad; and Mohawk and Lake Erie Railway. The New York Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the consolidation was illegal, and nothing came of these plans.[10]

Branches

The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway leased the

Saratoga Lake, New York, and from Saratoga Lake to Schuylerville, New York.[11] The two companies were consolidated in 1886 to form the Troy, Saratoga and Northern Railroad.[1]

Fitchburg control

The Fitchburg Railroad acquired the Troy and Greenfield Railroad from Massachusetts on February 1, 1887, and the Troy and Boston Railroad on May 3, 1887.[12] Shortly thereafter, the Fitchburg gained control of the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway, and operated the formerly separate parallel single-track lines of the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway and the Troy and Boston between Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Johnstown, New York, as a single line.[3] A similar arrangement was made with the D&H for the parallel lines between Mechanicville and "Crescent", in the direction of Schenectady.[13] The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway and the Troy, Saratoga and Northern Railroad were formally merged with the Fitchburg Railroad on October 1, 1892.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ There is some confusion over the date of the Rotterdam extension. Karr suggests that the entire Rotterdam–Massachusetts line opened in January 1879. The ICC valuation report for the Boston and Maine misprints "1855."[3][8][9]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c ICC (1931), p. 908.
  2. ^ a b Shaughnessy (1997), p. 169.
  3. ^ a b c d Karr (2017), p. 202.
  4. Newspapers.com
    .
  5. Newspapers.com
    .
  6. OCLC 6340864
    .
  7. Newspapers.com
    .
  8. ^ ICC (1931), p. 910.
  9. Newspapers.com
    .
  10. ^ Poor (1883), p. 123.
  11. ^ Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York. Vol. 2. United States. 1885. pp. 111–113.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ ICC (1931), pp. 907–908.
  13. ^ Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York. United States: Weed, Parsons and Company. 1905. p. 376.

References

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